This heartfelt tale of love and devotion is based on debut author Rebecca DeMarino’s own ancestors, who came to Long Island in the mid-1600s to establish a life–and a legacy–in the New World.
My Review: This took me forever to finish. Not because it was a particularly bad book, but simply because I stopped reading this book to read one that came out by a favorite author of mine.
When I first saw this book I told myself not to get it. Really? A Place in His Heart? It’s not a very dynamic title. However, when I read a quote of the book online that I liked, I decided to get it. Sadly, it was exactly what I first thought it would be. I predicted nearly everything that would happen next in the plot.
The book revolved around Mary and Barnabas. Barnabas—who was a widower—only decided to marry Mary because his boys needed a mother and he wanted more children. Throughout the whole of the book Barnabas continued to think, “It should have been Ann that…” fill in the blank. He never stopped thinking that. Mary never stopped thinking, “I wish that Barnabas would love me.” It got very repetitive and a bit annoying after a while. Also, Barnabas was forever asking Mary if she was pregnant. The poor woman couldn’t help it if she wasn’t! It was extremely insensitive of him. And though he saw how it bothered Mary every time he asked, he didn’t stop asking.
At times A Place in His Heart became very sappy. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes a couple of times. I will say that it had a certain sweet simplicity in it that I enjoyed. It did capture to some degree the mid-1600s and the lives people lived back then. It was well-researched and actually based on the author’s ancestors. However, I don’t believe I will be reading another book by Rebecca DeMarino. Not because I didn’t like her, per se, but simply because the book was so similar to so many other books I’ve read and reviewed. There was nothing much memorable in it.
I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.
**I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publishers. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are mine and mine alone.**